Chapter 40: The Backstab of an Old Flame

At the very moment he saw Song Shiya, the mask of ice that Jiang Yi had always maintained finally showed its first crack.

It was neither anger nor hatred.

Instead, it was a sense of utter bewilderment and absurdity, as if being stabbed deep in the back by the person he trusted most.

He had probably imagined a million different people who might stand as his adversaries in this courtroom.

Yet, he had never imagined that this person would be Song Shiya.

She was the only one who, after his father's accident, did not hide from him, and even cried as she told him, "No matter what happens, I will stay by your side."

The public gallery instantly erupted in chaos.

"Good heavens! How could it be Song Shiya? Isn't she Jiang Yi's ex-girlfriend?"

"I heard they were childhood sweethearts and had always been deeply in love. How could it come to this, tearing each other apart in court?"

"High society drama, tsk tsk. This is much more entertaining than financial news!"

The reporters, like sharks smelling blood, frantically aimed their camera lenses at the pair of former golden youths.

Xu Yuan's heart also sank to the bottom.

She glanced beside her at Jiang Wan, who was already trembling with rage, yet forced to keep her fists tightly clenched due to courtroom decorum.

Then, she looked not far away at Jiang Yi, whose face had turned pale to the point of near transparency.

She knew how ruthless Wen Ran's move truly was.

He was not using Song Shiya's testimony to provide any substantive evidence at all.

What he wanted was psychological destruction.

He wanted to use this most cruel method to demolish Jiang Yi's last line of psychological defense.

"Witness Song Shiya," the hypocritical voice of the plaintiff's attorney rang out once more, "please tell the court, what is your relationship with the defendant, Jiang Yi?"

Song Shiya raised her head, glanced at Jiang Yi, and her pretty eyes quickly misted over with a layer of tears.

With a tearful, pitiable voice, she answered, "We... we were childhood sweethearts, and... and we used to be lovers."

"Then why did you break up?" the lawyer pressed relentlessly.

"Because..." Song Shiya's tears slipped down with perfect timing, "because I found out that, just like his father, he is... he is cold-blooded and merciless."

Crying as she spoke, she began to recount the story she had already fabricated.

"Ten years ago, after Uncle Jiang's company met with disaster, Jiang Yi became like a different person. He grew paranoid, suspicious, and stopped trusting anyone. I originally thought he was just in too much pain. I wanted to stay with him, to help him pull through."

"But later, I realized I was wrong."

"He wasn't in pain at all; he was enjoying the feeling of having everything under his control."

"The trust fund his father left him—he never once told me the exact amount. He simply used that money to live a lifestyle far more extravagant than ordinary students. He would take me to the most upscale restaurants and buy me the most expensive gifts, but he would never give me a straight answer about where that money actually came from."

"Until one time, when I accidentally overheard an argument between him and Elder Sister Jiang Wan. That was when I learned that money was simply..."

Sobbing, she could not continue. That heartbroken appearance caused many of the sensitive young women in the gallery to display expressions of deep sympathy.

"Simply the stolen money left behind by Jiang Haishan! Am I right?" The lawyer immediately supplied the most fatal line for her.

Song Shiya neither nodded nor shook her head.

She merely looked at Jiang Yi with an expression bordering on despair, weeping silently.

That look seemed to say: *I'm sorry, A-Yi, I didn't want to be like this either. But I can no longer deceive myself.*

What acting skills; not winning an Oscar was truly a waste of such talent.

Xu Yuan thought coldly to herself.

She took out her phone and rapidly recorded her thoughts in the notes app.

【New User (Song Shiya): Histrionic personality disorder. Excels at utilizing feminine fragility and tears to win sympathy and manipulate public opinion. Her testimony appears emotionally charged, but is actually full of loopholes.】

【Loophole One: Disjointed timeline. Forcibly linking Jiang Yi's personality changes over the past decade to the trust fund.】

【Loophole Two: Questionable motives. If it were truly for "justice," why speak neither early nor late, but choose precisely this critical juncture to come forward and testify?】

【Loophole Three: Lack of substantive proof. All accusations are based on "I thought," "I felt," and "I accidentally overheard," without any concrete evidence whatsoever.】

While taking notes, she calmly observed Jiang Yi's reaction.

He still sat there, completely motionless.

That cold mask, which had previously shown a crack, now solidified once more.

He merely gazed quietly at the girl bathed in tears on the witness stand.

His eyes looked as though he were gazing at a total stranger he had never known.

No anger, no sorrow, only a vast expanse of dead, desolate nothingness.

Xu Yuan knew he was not indifferent.

He had merely pressed all the raging storms deep beneath that dead, silent surface of the sea.

At that moment, Xu Yuan's phone vibrated gently.

It was a text message from Lu Xingyu.

【Junior! I dug up some insider information regarding this case! I found something very interesting!】

Xu Yuan's pupils suddenly constricted.

She rapidly tapped open the text message.

Inside the message was a screenshot of the courtroom schedule.

And right behind Song Shiya's name was a clear and distinct remark.

【Witness Status: Added temporarily by the plaintiff's attorney ten minutes before the trial began.】

Added temporarily?

Xu Yuan's heart leaped violently.

She suddenly understood everything.

This was not something Wen Ran had planned all along.

This was a trump card he threw down at the last minute after seeing her appear by Jiang Yi's side.

He intended not only to psychologically destroy Jiang Yi.

He wanted to destroy her as well.

He wanted to show her how fragile her seemingly impregnable alliance was in the face of Jiang Yi's "former love."

He wanted to make her retreat in the face of difficulties.

What a madman!

Xu Yuan's fingertips turned icy cold with anger.

She raised her head and glanced at Song Shiya, who was still performing with all her might.

Then she looked at Jiang Yi, who seemed to have been abandoned by the entire world.

After that, she made the boldest decision of her life.

She lowered her head and, with the fastest speed possible, drafted a text message on her phone, then found the name whose number she had saved but never once proactively contacted.

【Jiang Yi】

The content of the message was very simple.

It consisted of only a single line.

【She is a temporary witness. Do not debate feelings with her; that is her trap. Ask her who contacted her and when, and instructed her to testify.】